Metal-folding machine with interconnected folding and workclamping means



June 13, 1950 A. A. ESPARI METAL-FOLDING MACHINE WITH INTERCONNECTEDFOLDING AND WORK-CLAMPING MEANS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 8, 1946 June13,- 1950 A. A. ESPARI METAL-FOLDING MACHINE WITH INTERCONNECTED FOLDINGAND WORK-CLAMPING MEANS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 8, 1946 June 13,1950 A. A. ESPA 2,511 530 METAL-FOLDING MACHINE WIT NTERCONNECTEDFOLDING AND WORK-CLAMPING MEANS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV. 8, 1946 June13, 1950 A. A. ESPARI 2,511,530

METAL-FOLDING MACHINE WITH ERCONNECTED FOLDING AND WORK-CLAMP MEANSFiled Nov. 8, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 if Q Patented June 13, 1950CGNN-EOTED FOLDING GLAMPIN G MEANS WORK- AlphonseAEspafi, New Haven,Conn. ApplicationiNovember 8, 1946,:Se15ia1N0. J,493

.1 This invention relates to metal-folding machines, and moreparticularly to those of the hand-operated.typeoperable by means such as:a hand crank, which are suitable for bending up the edges-of sheetmetal plates for the purpose of hanging them. Such machines are commonlyknown as bar .folders, and they comprise in their construction astationary forming member in the nature of ananvil against whichthesheet is clamped preliminary to bending, and over one edge of whichthe metal isfbent 'by operation of a turning folder bar whose turningmovement is imparted by the hand crank.

In -machines of this type therelnas been considerable inconvenience andloss of time involved .in the clamping of the work sheet in positionprior to the folding operationand one object 'of the present inventionis to overcome this drawback.

Another object of the invention is to provide .a machine having a=work-clamping .means that is operable from. the .same manual operatingmeans .as the folding bar so as to have a clampingmovement preliminaryto the folding, and therebylincrease the speed with which the machinecan be operated and increase the-output .of themachine.

Another object is to improvethe structureand efiicacy of machines ofthis general type.

In the accompanying drawings;

Fig. l is a side elevation of a machine embodying my improvements;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view, with certain parts broken away";

Fig. 3 is 'a view from the side opposite that shown in Fig. 1, thecasing of the @gears being shown in-section;

Fig. "4 is an-end view looking from the righthand end of Fig. .1, theoperating --sh-a-tt section a'di'acent that end of the machine beingshown in section Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are, re'spectivelygsectionsl :on lines5--6and 1-1 of Fig. 1;

Fig/8 is a -de'tail showing one of the end frames;

Fig. 9 is a section on line -'9--9 of Fig. -4,"this view being a brokenView;

Fig. 10 is a transverse section showing parts of the machine as theyappear at a certain stage of the folding operation;

Fig. 10 isa section on line NI -I'll of Fig. 10;

Fig. lO 'is an enlargedse'ction on line 10 -4 0 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 10, showing a later stage of theoperation;

Fig. .12 is a section on line {IL-I12. of Fig. :9;

. member.

*ca'ted at 23 operating hand crank at one end. It comprises 'a'frame inwhich is arranged for turning movement on 'a longitudinal horizontalaxis a folding 'bar,.said bar in operation being swingable from asubstantially horizontal position at one side .of the frame "intoidifierent positions in which it cooperates with asubstantially.horizontally dis- .po's'ed'anvil member at the oppositeside of the frame. The ,metal .sheet to be folded is introducedbetweenthe anvil member and the folding 'bar, :the'extentoftheintroduction being controlled by 'stcpmembers that are convenientlyadjustable. There are also provided novel'means iorclamping the .s'heetagainst the anvil preliminary'to folding, saidme'ans including an up-.wardly'movable clamping bar which is operable .from the hand crank orthe like that is used to actuate the folding bar. The clamping bar iscontrolled in its upward and downward movementfrom the operating meansfor the folding bar through the use of a cam shaft located beneath'theclamping bar. The folding bar in its initial position, preliminary tofolding, has its active or folding face spaced downwardly to a certainextent from the folding edge of the anvil After the workpiece has beenintroduced to the required extent into a space immed'iately beneath theedge portion of the anvil member, the clamping bar is shifted to move itupwardly into firm clamping cooperation with the anvil member, andsubstantially simultaneously thejfolder bar is moved up to its operativeposition with respect to the anvil member.

In the drawings the frame of the machine is indicated generally at 20,the anvil member at 2 I,

.the swinging folding bar at 22, the latter being operable by a handcrank '23 located at one end 7 of the frame, and. the clamping bar beingindi- The cam shaft previously referred to is indicated at 24, the samebeing located below "theclamping, bar. For limiting the introduction ofthe workpiece into a space between the anvil member and the clampingbar, a laterally adjustable gauging slide is employed, the same beingsection 28 and suitably fixed thereto. opposite end of the frame thelatter is provided ,withan inset end wall member 36 suitably fastened tothe bottom plate. frame which is located away from the folder bar, theframe is closed in by a side wall member indicated at and being equippedwith a number of suitable stop members 26, as hereinafter described. Thegauge member 25 is adjustable laterally by a number of adjusting screws21. The turning axis of the folder bar 22 is located above and in linewith the cam shaft 24. The folder bar is mounted between and connectedto shaft sections 28 and 29, best shown in Fig. 9, of which the section28 is connected to the crank member 23. Between the shaft section 28 andthe cam shaft 24 is a gear connection, indicated generally at 38, andincluding gears covered by a gear casing 3!. There are also camconnections between the cam shaft 24 and the shaft sections 2-8 and 29,as hereinafter described.

Referring now to the details, the frame 29 has a bottom member 32which'extends throughout its length and is turned up at one end toprovide an integral end wall 33 having at the upper part thereof anupwardly elongated hole or slot 34 accommodating a portion of shaftsection 28, as shown in Fig. 9. The inner end portion of the crankmember 23 base hub 35 which is applied over the outwardly extending endportion of'shtaft At he At the side of the 31-, which is suitablyfastened in place, said mem.- ber in this particular case being set inunder the butt end of the anvil2l and suitably secured thereto, and thusacting as a partial support for The adjusting screws 21, previouslymentioned, .are mounted in the member 31 so as the anvil.

to be rotatable therein. At the opposite side of the frame the latter isleftopen, so that the folder bar will have no interference with itsmovements. The side wall member 3! does not extend throughout the lengthof the frame, but, on the other hand, extends from the end wall 36 to atransverse wall member 38. The wall member 38 is near the end wall 33,and between them the gearing 30, previously mentioned, is accommodated,also the gear casing 31.

The end wall 36 serves as a mounting for the shaft section 29, and hasat the upper part thereof a recessed portion 39 receiving a bearing-49for said shaft section, said bearing being ,movable upwardly in therecessed portion or to a limited extent. For this purpose the bear-' ing43, embracing shaft section 28, is adaptedv to move upwardly in a recess44 in wall 38, and is adapted to make contact with an adjustable screw45 mounted in a bridge member 46.

'The cam shaft 24 has a hearing at one end .in the end wall 36, and nearthe opposite end of the camshaft isanother bearing provided in the wall38. In-the form shown these hearings are created by providing suitablebores in the walls 36 and 38. The cam shaft i also supported at a numberof points between its ends,

" and inthe present case this shaft is supported by members 41 that canbe referred to as partitionmembers set in the frame, which partitionmembers also serve to support 50m? i th Othfir gauge bar 25.

ends on two of the adjacent partitions.

. the frame.

operating parts, as hereinafter described. In addition to the partitionmembers just referred to, the cam shaft is also supported at intervalsby blocks 48 set in under the shaft and supporting it from beneath. InFig. 3 the general arrangement of these partition members and blocks isdisclosed, and it will be noted that in this case there are sixpartition members 41 and six blocks- 48. Each of the blocks 48 rests atits lower end on the bottom of the frame and is notched at its upperpart, as shown at 49, to receive a portion of the shaft. Each of thepartition members 4i rests at its lower end on the bottom of the frame,and has one of its side edges supporting the Side wall 31 of the frame.In each of these partitions is a hole 59 through which extends aportion'of the cam shaft. The cams 5|, provided on the cam shaft 24 forthe purpose of providing for upward movement of the clamping bar 23*,may be six in number, each cam being located adjacent a supporting block48. The cams 5! may be separate members slipped over ,the shaft 24 andthen fixed thereto by suitable means suchas pins 52. Each of these camspreferably has a periphery which, through the greater part thereof, isconcentric with the shaft but is cut away to form a recess 53, as shownin Fig. 6. This recess is adapted to be engaged by a downward projectionon the clamping bar .23 In the form shown the projection is provided bymounting on the clamping bar a vertically adjustable screw 54 having alower end shaped as a, rounded nose 55. Each screw is adjustablevertically in a threaded socket 56 suitably fastened to one side of theclamping bar.

clamping bar 23*. is received, and by means of which the clamping bar isguided in a vertical direction. Normally the lower edge of the clampingbar rests on the bottom of th recess 58, but by actuation of theadjacent cam 5| the clamping bar can be raised, as shown in Fig. 10.

The upper edge portions 59 of the partitions 41, shown in Fig. 13, serveas supports for a superposed member, which in turn supports the Thereare several such superposed members, each supporting the gauge barthroughout a, portion of its length, and in this particular case thesuperposed members referred to are indicated at 60, as shown in Fig. 2.Such a. member 60 may be supported at the respective Certain of thepartitions 41 can be placed so that they are at a short distance fromeach other, thus providing two relatively narrow spaces in the frame, inwhich spaces the shanks of the screws 21 are accommodated, there beingin this instance two of these screws. The superposed members 59,previously referred to, are arranged to extend between and bridgepartition members which are farther apart than those between which thescrews 21 are located. The members 69 provide an ample support for thegauge bar 25 which extends substantially throughout the length of V Thescrew; 2'! may have round knurled heads and each screw may have a bear-.ing in the wall 31 provided between a shoulder morocco "to the shank-crme screw! mm 'ishank of-ithe screw threaded, as shown at 552, :and thethreaded portion engages a threaded :bore provided in a block 63, whichis fixedly secured in an appropriate manner the gauge Lbar -gand extendsdownwardly 'irom the gauge bar. By. this arrangement the gauge bar is:moved in opposite directions "laterally of- "the iframe when the screwis rotated in the respective 'cl'irections, :the gauge bar in thismovement ibeing guided mpon r the upper iaces of the supporting members6! L'Ihe stops 26,-:prev iously mentioned, areprovided upon the gaugebar at the inner sedge of the :gauge loanand each of these stops :may"he in lthe form of a U-sha-ped :mem'ber fheldin .place :a screw '64screwed intov the gaugeibar. 'Elhe ueshaned stops are provided with free:ends 65 that :proj-eot into notches 156 cut into time -.c1amping bar 26from the upper edge thereof. fIlhe matches -.66 extend entirely across'the impart-edge of the clamping bar-123 and the :legs of'tthe iJ-s'haped stop members project into tthesennotches tova greater 101' lessextent, depending nnonthe. positionito which the gauge'aoarfliSfB-djLISiQd. .nrfter the gauge bar has. been adjusted" laterally byposition by suitable means, 101 example, :by means of screwstlnassingldosety thro gh the 31 :andrthreaded so as to. hatethreaded engagementwith iiheigange :har. 'TI'IGSBJAGIEQWS are-reach equipped with 2;lockingzmitfifl bearill against the outer surface of wall 31.

"The tolder bar titsgorefflably on composite construction, the someheingiini-lthe: term :of a

truss tor g'iyingxit greater .stnength :IEQI this I 4 purposetheiolder:bar comprises the ibar proper F whi h i a stmightmemheri-andrthe;angniar 'ztruss member 1110' diam-rig Jim-intermediate"pow :tion spaced :from the intermediatesnortion of Jbar169 by means ofaholtl'l. V -The:folder*1loar is applied atits "respectiveendsvtozz'onnd disk members .12 and 513., nespeotinely; :first wcf whichis suitably fixedito the Inner endloi asha-ft section '23 and the secondniwhich lItS' similarly fixed to the shaft section-c219. r'lihesediskimembelts are disposed :thealnner faces of: the walls 88 and'zat,respectively,- and overlie: the hearings. :43 amino, mspectizelyuandthe'ahridgeimemhers "4'5 and 142, respectively; Engagedxwithxtheaperipheries of themespeotiwedi'sks T2,: :13

' M and-1.5, Tespectiwely, pinned :to' the shaft .24. "There is acertain ecam autism betweenthe disks of each pair 12,1 4 .andflfi,515,.zfor the-pun :pose of raising the 'iongitudmal :axis the folderbar, and in thepresemt instanoezithis camaction is :produoedihydeforming the: tower disks fi l and 51 5, which, cars-shown inqEig. "1;;are 'each provided at. one pointfin the'zperiphery with :a depression:or dwell adapted toacoommodate a portion of the peripheryof:thefcooperathig :disk, and 'confornringfinzshape to r-snch portion.

The'iolder barizzpis. suitably attached to the upper disks 312 and 13aslby zmeims iOfz'SQflOW-S :passi-ng through' the disks and into theendsof ham-member 59. .sSuch screwsiu'e mdioated at location as the,folding proceeds.

the shaft sectionIB is in the aposition :ashown :in

Fig. l9. When gear T8 :is in the positionzshowm in V-Fi-g. :5, the teethof the gear which .at opposite sides Of the portion ill) vare in closeproximity to the :teeth of the gear .119.

For the purpose =.of providing adjustable :means iortlimiting theisw-ing oZE :thetfolderhar, an ad- Justable stop may ice placed on end12111133. ;A stop member may be :provided in the form of an .arcuateslotted piece :BI held :in iadjusted "position by bolts' 82engaging-thewall: 3'3, :said arcuate piece having at one end ;aprojecting stop member :35 adapted to he contacted hy the (hand:crank..:2:3. :Prefierably the hand lcrank :is substantially horizontalwhen the folder :loar :is "in the-position shown in Fig-G and byadjustmentzof "the stop :memher the upward swing oftheziolder'rharrelatively"to :the anvil man be limited :as desired.

For the purpose of providing an indication %at the upper wpart oi theframe of the: lateral po- :sitio-n .oi'the {gauge bar {SJ-suitableindicating means may be employed. irI-nthe form shown, tthe igangelbaris provided at two points in its length with npstanding :headed membersssh-ayin cylindrical heads projecting upwatdl-y into transverse slots7&5 provided in the :anvil, the sides of said 'fSlQlzS having associatedtherewith suitablescales (adapted to register with markings ontheheaoled members.-84.

the operation of theqmaohine, the gauge hariZS is .lflrst adjusted bytheiadfrnstin-g means above described so as (to permit itheimetal-sheet120- be operated noon to be inserted to the -d-e= sired extent.-betweenl-the upper-edge =01 the clamping bar 23 and the opposing lowerfaceportion ofthsanvil '24. In Fig. 6,, for example, the gauge bar iis-shown iniilull lines in one position, and in dotted lines anotherposition. The anyilj-at its upper portionis provided with an inclinedsur-Eace that leads to a thin inner After themetal .sheetuhas beeninserted into the bite between the parts above mentioned, so that theinner edgeof the sheet, engages the stops 26, the bending or foldinoperation is commenced by turning the crank in a counterclockwisedirection with reference to Fig. 14, and with reference to Figs. '5 and6. At the commencement of the turning movement, a tooth on gear 78engages the adjacent tooth of gear l-9,' thus starting the rotation ofgear 59 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 5. As therotation continues the :cams 255i act to raise the =olamping rbar itwhich is 'therel y moved upwardly to clamp a portion of the :sheetagainst the anvil. The-screw pins are, :of course, adjusted lengthwiseheiorehand, so-that when the cylindrical surfaces of the oamswa'reinengagement with thelower -ends of thepins, the plate will be firmlyclamped against the lower surface of the anvil with they reqniredamcuntof {pressure for :holding the plate against dis- In this oporation theteeth of the gear 1-8 engage teeth at the upper part of gear .19, andthe dwells it vofthe lower cam disks M, 15 are shifted so that the.cylindrical surfaces of these scam vdisks engags-lathe peripheries ofthe upper disks "i2, i3.

7 This latter action has the effect :of raising and The gear 13 slightlyswinging the iolderibar, and the latter is moved upwardly so that beforeany considerablejolding-action takes place the upper Slotthandoorner-ofthe folder loar (Fig. 14) is brought substantially tothetolane oi thelower surface of be able to rest upon the teeth of gear 19 when to theanvil, with said'cornerin close proximity 7 to the edge of the anvil.After the folderbar has reached this position where the turning axis ofthe folder bar (and of the shaft sections 28 and 29) is substantiallycoincident with the inner edge of the anvil, the Swing of the folder barcontinues, as shown in Fig. 15, thus bending the metal sheet to form aflange at the margin of the sheet. In the case illustrated in Fig. 16,the body of the sheet is folded down against the inclined upper surfaceof the anvil, but the extent of the fold will, of course, depend uponthe adjustment of the stop member 8|.

It will be obvious from the foregoing description that, after a foldingmovement, such as shown in Fig. 16, for example, has been accomplished,a reverse rotation of the folding shaft comprising the sections 28 and29 will permit the workpiece to be released, the clamping bar and thefolding bar being restored to the initial positions. 7

It will be seen from the foregoing that the machine can be operated veryconveniently and very quickly, no separate operating means for theclamping bar being required, and the clamping operation, as well as thefolding operation, being accomplished by one hand of the operator,leaving his other hand free for other purposes. On

the first movement of the machine, the work which has been insertedunder the edge of the anvil is automatically clamped by the rise of theclamping bar, and as the clamping bar is rising the folder bar is beingmoved or translated upwardly from a lower position to a position inwhich one of its corners, adjacent the axis of rotation, is raised tooperative position with respect to the anvil. Then the folder bar isactuated on continued movement of the operating means was to create thefold. By the provision of these features the operation of the machine ismuch more rapid than heretofore, and production is speeded upconsiderably. Moreover, the machine is of simple and durable structure.

It will be apparent that in the machine disclosed the anvil has a fiatlower face leading to a pointed folding edge, and that the clamping baris adapted to clamp the work against the lower face over an area thatends approximately at the folding edge. It will also be apparent thatthe folder bar has a folding face which is initially in a lower positionbut at a later stage swings on an axis substantially coincident with thefolding edge of the anvil.

In the drawings a preferred form of the machine is illustrated, and itis to be understood? that this is by way of example only, and thatvarious modifications in the organization and changes in the details maybe made without departing from the principles of the invention or thescope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a metal-folding machine, the combination of a fixed anvil, a framein which the anvil is mounted, a work-clamping bar beneath the anvilslidable vertically upwardly to clamp the work against the anvil, arotary shaft having fixed bearings in the frame and carrying cams whichupon rotation engage the work-clamping bar to lift it into the operativeposition, a folder bar structure embodying a folder bar swingable withrespect to the anvil to fold the workpiece and also embodying rotaryshaft sections having mountings in the frame which permit the lifting ofsaid sections in a vertical plane, and means of operative connectionbetween said folder bar structure and said cam shaft including gears andcams arranged so that upon rotation of the folder bar the cam shaft isrotated and the folder bar lifted.

2. A metal-folding machine as defined in claim 1, in which the cams insaid means of connection are located internally of cross membersprovided in the frame and the gears. are located externally of one ofsaid cross members.

3. In a metal-folding machine, the combination of a fixed anvil, a framein the upper part of which said anvil is mounted, said frame having abottom member, end members, and a plurality of cross members in thenature of partitions, a work-clamping bar slidable vertically in thepartitions and adapted to clamp the work against the lower surface ofthe anvil, a rotary shaft mounted in the frame beneath the work-clampingbar carrying a plurality of rotary cams adapted to move the clamping barupwardly, a folder bar structure embodying a folder bar swingable withrespect to the anvil to fold the workpiece and also embodying shaftsections adapted to move vertically in the upper part of the frame, saidfolder bar having an inoperative position in which its active face isspaced downwardly from the level of the under face of the anvil, andoperative means of connection between said bar structure and said camshaft whereby upon swinging movement of the folder bar the cam shaft isrotated and the folder bar lifted bodily.

4. In a metal-folding machine, the combination of a fixed anvil, a,frame in the upper part of which said anvil is mounted, said-framehaving a, bottom member, end members, and a plurality of cross membersin the nature of partitions, a work-clamping bar slidable vertically inthe partitions and adapted to clamp the work against the lower surfaceof the anvil, a rotary shaft mounted in the frame beneath theworkclamping bar carrying a plurality of rotary cams adapted to move theclamping bar upwardly, a folder bar structure embodying a folder barswingable with respect to the anvil to fold the workpiece and alsoembodying shaft sections adapted to move vertically in the upper part ofthe frame, and operative means of connection between said bar structureand said cam shaft whereby upon swinging movement of the folder bar thecam shaft is rotated and the folder bar lifted, said means includingco-acting gears one of which is mutilated, one of said gears beingmounted on the cam shaft and the other upon one of said shaft sections.

5. A metal-folding machine as defined in claim 4, in which one of thegears is mounted on one end of said cam shaft and in which said means ofconnection also includes pairs of camming disks located adjacent theends of the folder bar.

6. A metal-folding machine as defined in claim 5, in which said camshaft is supported within said partition members and is also supportedby additional members in the spaces between the partition members and inwhich the clamping bar is slidable in slots provided in the upperportions of said partition members.

ALPHONSE A. ESPARI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

(References on following-page) I 9 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number NameDate Stow Feb. 28, 1860 Gleason Dec. 24, 1867 Keene May 10, 1887 ReisingFeb. 14, 1888 Stark Aug. 14, 1888 Kunold Oct. 14, 1902 Keene Apr. 3,1906 Talmadge May 29, 1906 Number 10 Name Date Hahnemann Dec. 30, 1924Jarecki Nov. 11, 1930 Jensen Jan. 28, 1936 Kilham Mar. 16, 1948 FOREIGNPATENTS Country Date Sweden Sept. 16, 1905

